The National Retail Federation Wednesday urged a Senate committee examining federal tax reform to support legislation that would require Internet retailers to collect sales tax the same as local merchants. “As retailing evolves and Internet sales become a more prominent portion of total retail sales, it is critical that Congress address the sales tax collection discrimination that exists between brick-and-mortar and remote retailers,” NRF senior v-p for government relations David French said. “Brick-and-mortar retailers are major contributors to the health of local communities and should not be placed at a disadvantage compared to remote sellers that have no local presence.”
French’s comments came in written statement submitted to the Finance Committee, which is holding hearings on the impact federal tax reform could have on state and local tax and fiscal policy. Of three bills pending in Congress that would give states authority to require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax from, French urged that Congress pass S. 1832, the Marketplace Fairness Act, sponsored by Senator Michael Enzi, R-Wyo. French praised the “hybrid structure” of the bill, which gives states that want to participate the choice of adopting the long-pending Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement or a more limited set of simplifications included in the bill.
